Kansas: Three Drivers to Watch

NASCAR heads back to its 1.5-mile bread-and-butter this weekend. While the SpongeBob SquarePants sponsorship suggest an underwater theme, the race track, Kansas Speedway, is just about the farthest from the ocean as any on the schedule. Ironic? Perhaps, but it's a fun sponsor for what should prove to be a fun race.

Here's a look at three drivers to watch in this race:

Green Flag - Jimmie Johnson

He's on a hot streak right now with four consecutive finishes of third or better, and it's hard to see Kansas cooling him off. Aside from Kyle Larson (two starts), Johnson is the only driver with an average career finish of better than 10th at Kansas. He has 14 top-10s in 17 starts at the track, including 11 in a row before an unlucky 40th cost him in the Chase last fall.

Yellow Flag - Martin Truex Jr.

He's feast or famine at Kansas. In 13 starts, he's registered four top-fives, but has no other top-10s on his record at the track. With nine top-10s so far in 2015, expect him to be sitting down for a feast in this event.

Red Flag - Kurt Busch

This weekend will be a big challenge for the No. 41 team. Busch has led laps in six of seven starts so far this season, but has struggled significantly at Kansas. He has just one top-10 in his last seven starts at that track and a single top-five in 18 career races there.